Flexible door.



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FLEXIBLE DOOR. n AP IIIIIIIIIIIIIII UNB 24. 1904. 1

/WENTORS .....gwwwh PATENTED DEC. 27, 1904.4 G. 0. DODGE L G. MILLER.

FLEXIBLE DOOR.

' APPLICATION YILED JUNE 24. 1904.

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` UNITED STATES Patented December 27, 1904.

PATENT OEEICE.

'WISCONSIN FLEXIBLE DOOR- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,228, dated December 27, 1904.

Application filed June 24, 1904:. Serial No. 213,969.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that we, CHARLES O. DODGE and GEORGE MILLER, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Chippewa Falls, in thecounty of Chippewa and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flexible Doors, of which the following is a specilication.

Our invention relates to improvements in flexible doors-that is to say, a door made of some flexible material or fabric, and preferably of canvas-the main object being the provision of a door particularly adapted for inside use, such as where foldingdoors are employed, whereby `a door is provided which is very light in weight and easily opened and closed,

- which occupies very little space and as aconsequence saves much room, and which performs itsfunctions of a door as perfectly as doors of solid construction.

Another object of our invention is the provision of a flexible canvas door with means for assisting in the opening and closing of such door, thus enabling the door to be easily opened and closed and'avoiding the serious objection of the door sticking or binding, as is the case with folding or sliding doors'in common and general use.

Another object or our invention is the provision of a flexible sliding door and mechanismfor-opening and closing the door which will be ofsimple, durable, and inexpensive construction, which door and means can be easily placed in position or removed, which may be readily accessible for purposeof repair, and which will be thoroughly practical in every particular.

With these objects in view our invention consists of a flexible door and opening and closing mechanism embodying novel features of construction and combination of parts,sub stantially as disclosed herein.

Figure lis afront elevation of our com pleteinvention, the door being closed andthe connected .mechanism being in the position it occupies when said door is closed. Fig. Qis aview of one end of our mechanism. Fig. 3 is a sectional View, in a horizontal plane, taken at the top of the door. Fig. iis avertical section also at the top of the door. Fig. 5 is a central transverse sectional View at the top of the door, more particularly to show the door and Lipper track or guideway. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional View of the lower track or slot, and Fig. 7 is a detail View to illustrate the ball-bearing construction on which the roller is mounted at its ends. y

Referring by numerals to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the frame or casing, which is adapted to be inserted bodily in the opening or recess where the door is to be placed, said casing having the side compartments 2 and 2', the vertical guides or channels 3 and 3', and the upper and lower slots forming tracks 4 and 4.

In the compartment 2 and in the upper and lower walls thereof are secured the bearingplates 5, having channels or annular grooves 6, which, in connection with the plates 7, having annular grooves 8, form the tracks or guideways for the balls 9, forming ball-bearings for the upper and lower ends of the roller lO.

Near the upper end of the roller is attached one end of the chain or cord 1 1, which passes from the roller over the guidepulley 12, mounted in the hanger 13, and at its free end is connected to the Weight 14, and the purpose of this weight and chain connection is to act as a counterbalance and to turn or revolve said roller towind the flexible or canvas door 15 upon said roller. rIhe canvas or flexible door is connected at one end to said roller and travels in the tracks 4: and il of the casing and is provided with the strip or edge rail 16, which carries at its upper and lower ends the guide-plates and keepers 17, which move in said upper and lower tracks. To the upon the vertical roller and back and forth in the upper and lower tracks and that the weights serve to assist materially in the opening and closing of said door.

rlhe numerous advantages of a door of this character will be readily understood and appreciated by all skilled in such matters, and it is evident that it can be ornamented to present the appearance of a heavy or massive wooden door, also that it can be manufactured at a very small price, also that it serves every purpose in an eiiicient and practical manner and possesses every requisite to commend it as useful, desirable, and practical.

We claim- The combination with a frame or casing of an upright roller having a flexible door connected thereto and adapted to roll on and unroll therefrom, upper and lower guide-grooves in said casing, a vertical guide-strip on the door adapted to move in said guide-grooves, a chain attached to each end of said strip, pulleys in the upper portion of said casing` over which said chains pass and weights attached to said chains, a guide-pulley at the lower end or portion of the casing` for one of said chains; a chain attached to the roller passed therearound and over a pulley in the casing, and a weight attached to said chain, said weight being of a size to counter-balance the two first-mentioned weights, whereby the door maybe opened orclosed with uniformity.

In testimony whereof we aiix ou r signatures in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES O. DODGE. A GEORGE MILLER.

Witnesses:

lV. H. STAFFORD, FRED OMs'ruD. 

